So without going into to much detail (if I were some people I know could prob finger me and I haven't really told anyone about my father). Anyway I am a PR male whose mother abandoned my father and myself in high school. Thing is my dad is disabled and since than I have basically had to take care of both my father (he has very limited functional capabilities) and myself (this mainly means cleaning the house, preparing meals, making sure he takes his meds, making sure he goes to the doctor when he is supposed to, paying bills and doing all the financial stuff, basically everything needed to run a household, cept I was 15). Because of this I decided to stay at home for UG, but with Law school I feel like I need to get out and get rid of this albatross (I know it is horribly selfish of me and I have enough guilt just thinking about this), plus I think it would be near impossible for me to take care of him, myself, and law school. Anyway how much would this hurt me when applying outside of my commutable zone (as in I would have to abandon my father). I am currently in the DC area so I imagine at georgetown gw gm american etc this would prob be a huge boost, but outside of those schools would this hurt me and make the admissions officers look down kind of in disgust that I would abandon my disabled father? How should I work this into my apps in a personal statement? Diversity statement? Oh because of my household situation my resume is like entirely blank with absolutely nothing on it. I spent freshman summer fucking around, took classes sophomore summer, and spent last summer studying for the lsat (went from a 145 up to a 165 on my most recent lsat, although my range is more in between 158-163). How much will this hurt me?

If you are wondering yes I have family who could help him, but they are not thrilled to do so and would not if I could, so I am not entirely abandoning him to the wolves.

I'm definitely not an expert advice giver like some of the TLSers here, but....

I think as an URM with a 165, you have a great chance at decent schools. Did you mention your GPA or did I overlook that? Anyway, I think that your story is a good topic to write your personal statement on. I don't see why you need to mention your inner struggle of leaving home or not in your essays. I doubt that law schools will think, "Oh, he is applying from his home and leaving his ailing father. What a heartless soul."

An adcomm is not going to pass judgment on you; if anything, they should applaud you for getting this far. You could theoretically get both a great PS and DS from your experiences, one from taking care of your disabled father, and the other from your mother leaving and having to take care of the household from such a young age. You can include in your statements how, due to these circumstances, you haven't had "official" experience but enough life experience for all of us. If treated well, these topics can become some pretty fantastic statements, I think. In any event, good luck with everything.

Get the highest LSAT you can. That matters more than anything else by far.

As an URM with a good LSAT, you'll have a lot of options (assuming your GPA is decent or better). And DO NOT WORRY about adcomms passing judgment on you. It won't happen. They'll admire you for sticking it out with your dad this long and now going out on your own.

I'm not an expert on how to deal with your sort of background in the application, but you may want to make your diversity statement about your ethnic heritage and your PS about your family history. The combination of the two makes you exactly what they want: someone who adds to diversity and has overcome obstacles.

lsac gpa 3.4 transcript gpa 3.5Just took the june lsat practice test got a 161, very upset about it. I know this probably belongs in the urm fourm but how bad does it look for a Pr to have failed a spanish class (retook and got a c only class that is really lowering my gpa).

StrongSofts wrote:lsac gpa 3.4 transcript gpa 3.5Just took the june lsat practice test got a 161, very upset about it. I know this probably belongs in the urm fourm but how bad does it look for a Pr to have failed a spanish class (retook and got a c only class that is really lowering my gpa).

That Spanish class thing won't look good, but it's no big deal; you're holding some strong cards. You seem to be approaching this from a "how bad will this look," "will they hold this against me" point of view. That's the wrong approach. Law schools WANT to have people in their class from underrepresented groups and who have overcome obstacles. You are not only such a person, but you have decent numbers to boot (assuming 3.4/160+). So stop dwelling on the bad points; just get a good LSAT score and apply, emphasizing your background and what you've been through. They'll give you the benefit of the doubt on all these little things you're worried about.

#1 I honestly don't think I could hack it at a T14 and not be in the bottom 1/3. Even if I got into Harvard with a full scholarship I don't think I would go, because I don't feel I can compete at that level. I would be overwhelmed and would most likely crash and burn.

#2 I would be very happy at a top regional school. Right now I am shooting for Fordham/W&M/BC in that order.

#3 do PR's really get that big a boost? I have looked on LSN and can only find a couple of PR's, not enough to make a prediction. It seems AA and NA get a big boost, but from what little I see of Mexicans and PR's we get a much smaller boost.

#4 How much would my softs help me? Everyone says it's just the numbers, but with URM + Strong Softs can I overcome being at the 25's at a Top 30?

Puerto Ricans do get a boost. I'm as white and anglo as you can get, so I'm not an expert on the size of the boost, but it exists. Get a 160+ and all the schools you mention are definite possibilities.